Speedway, Indiana – The oldest drive-in restaurant in Indianapolis, according to legend, is Mug n Bun.
Since its debut in 1960, it has been an institution on the west side of Indianapolis and in the community of Speedway.
People are queuing up to see the property, which was a little over $2 million when it was listed by the owner this week.
The Mug n Bun has caught Kelly Hickey and a group of investors’ attention.
“It needs a little work don’t it,” Hickey said. “I would say it is worth a lot of money, where it is sitting and the location and everything. The way Speedway is building up out here, I think it will bring a lot.”
The characteristic yellow and brown structure is being sold by the owner along with the inventory, but the name of the company is still clearly visible on the roadside sign. The restaurant, a home, a smaller structure known as the pizza building, and a fourth structure used for indoor dining are all included in the sale. The indoor eating structure was updated by the present owner so that it could operate all year.
A lifelong resident of the Westside, Daniel Denny, claimed to have started frequenting the eatery fifty years ago. When he learned about the sale, he felt compelled to visit.
“The food is great here…best root beer in town,” Denny said. “I usually get the tenderloin when I come in here, and the fried pickles.”
Up until 2010, when the current owner began accepting credit and debit cards, Mug n Bun was a cash-only operation. While some servers do accept Venmo, most servers prefer receiving tips in cash.
The structure and the menu have been the same for most of the last 50 years. The building’s enormous red Mug n’ Bun sign has endured the test of time unaltered. On-site production of the root beer. Hand-cut onion rings are used. Coney sauce is prepared locally. Customers travel from all over the state and country because of the attention to detail. However, Anderson local Johnny Cox thought it was time to finally pop in for lunch as word of a sale began to spread.
“This is my first time being here. I know it’s sad, but it is,” Cox said.
The property’s representative stated that the existing owner would want to sell to a buyer who was prepared to continue running the company.
Since Mug n Bun was started in 1960, there have only been two proprietors.
The owner is requesting that the most identifiable aspects of the company stay intact as a condition of the sale.
